146 MIDDLESEX SOCIETY. 



Reclaimed Meadows. 



There were ten applicants for the premiums on reclaimed 

 meadows. The committee were highly gratified to perceive 

 that so much attention has been given to this species of im- 

 provement. Some of the most valuable lands in the county 

 are those which have been transformed by the hand of indus- 

 try, from useless swamps to productive fields and meadows. 

 There are still hundreds — perhaps thousands — of acres of 

 these unsightly, and almost worthless tracts, waiting for the 

 action of the spirit of improvement, and which, it is hoped 

 will, at no remote day, be made to blossom as the rose, and to 

 make glad the heart of man with the riches that can be gath- 

 ered from their surface by cultivation. Several of the state- 

 ments from the proprietors of farms embrace particular notices 

 of improvements made in this department of Agriculture. 

 The committee would have been pleased to award a premium 

 to each of the applicants, had a sufiicient number been placed 

 at their disposal. They are confident, however, that those, to 

 whom they can give no other testimonial of the society's ap- 

 probation, than the mention of their names in this report, will 

 find ample reward for their labor in the increased value of their 

 land and its products. 



William Rices Statement. 



The piece of reclaimed meadow to which I invite your at- 

 tention, contains eight acres, witha depth of mud, varying from 

 one to six feet. It was originally free from wood or brush, and 

 produced meadow grass of common quality. The quantity of 

 the last crop was about half a ton to the acre. Formerly, 

 the only method by which the hay could be taken from the 

 meadow was by poles. A ditch was dug around the meadow, 

 and one through it, by which it was sufficiently drained. After 

 being drained one year, it was ploughed by three men and 

 three yokes of oxen, with a plough made expressly for plough- 

 ing bogs. Expense of ploughing : — 



